17th Oklahoma Legislature
# 17th Oklahoma Legislature

The Seventeenth Oklahoma Legislature was a meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma, composed of the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives. The state legislature met in regular session at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City from January 3 to April 29, 1939, during the term of Governor Leon C. Phillips. Phillips was the first state representative to become Governor of Oklahoma.

As Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, James E. Berry served as the President of the Senate. Jim A. Rinehart served as President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, making him the chief leader and organizer of the chamber. Don Welch served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

## Dates of session

* Regular session: January 3-April 29, 1939

Previous: 16th Legislature • Next: 18th Legislature

## Party composition

### Senate

| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Affiliation | Democratic | Republican | Total |
| | 43 | 1 | 44 |
| Voting share | 97.7% | 2.3% | |

### House of Representatives

| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total |
| - | - | - | - |
| Affiliation | Democratic | Republican | Total |
| | 102 | 13 | 115 |
| Voting share | 88.7% | 11.3% | |

## Leadership

### Senate

As Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, James E. Berry served as the President of the Senate, giving him a tie-breaking vote and the authority to serve as the presiding officer. Jim A. Rinehart of El Reno, Oklahoma, was elected by state senators to serve as President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, making him the chief leader and organizer of the chamber.

### House of Representatives

The Oklahoma Democratic Party held 102 of the 115 seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1939, allowing them to select the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Don Welch of Madill, Oklahoma, served as Speaker during the regular session in 1939. Harold Freeman of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, served as the second-in-command, or Speaker Pro Tempore.

## Members

### Senate

| District | Name | Party |
| - | - | - |
| 1 | Julius Cox | Dem |
| 2 | Nat Taylor | Dem |
| 2 | T. J. Hogg | Dem |
| 3 | Jesse Taylor | Dem |
| 4 | W. F. Hearne | Dem |
| 5 | Robert Harbison | Dem |
| 6 | LeRoy Clayton | Dem |
| 6 | E. D. Walker | Dem |
| 7 | Bill Ginder | Rep |
| 8 | James M. Wilson | Dem |
| 9 | Charles Duffy | Dem |
| 10 | John T. Sanford | Dem |
| 11 | Ray C. Jones | Dem |
| 12 | Louis Ritzhaupt | Dem |
| 13 | Tom Waldrep | Dem |
| 13 | Boyd Cowden | Dem |
| 14 | J. A. Rinehart | Dem |
| 14 | W. C. Fidler | Dem |
| 15 | Gerald Spencer | Dem |
| 15 | W. L. Mauk | Dem |
| 16 | Leslie Chambers | Dem |
| 17 | Phil Lowery | Dem |
| 17 | Merton Munson | Dem |
| 18 | Virgil Stokes | Dem |
| 18 | Joe B. Thompson | Dem |
| 19 | James C. Nance | Dem |
| 19 | Homer Paul | Dem |
| 20 | John A. MacDonald | Dem |
| 21 | James Babb | Dem |
| 22 | Tom Anglin | Dem |
| 23 | John B. McKeel | Dem |
| 24 | Paul Stewart | Dem |
| 25 | John C. Monk | Dem |
| 26 | W. O. Ray | Dem |
| 27 | Murrell Thornton | Dem |
| 27 | Joe M. Whitaker | Dem |
| 28 | R. O. Ingle | Dem |
| 29 | R. H. Shibley | Dem |
| 30 | Felix Church | Dem |
| 31 | Henry C. Timmons | Dem |
| 32 | W. A. Barnett | Dem |
| 33 | Penn Couch | Dem |
| 34 | H. M. Curnutt | Dem |
| 35 | Ferman Phillips | Dem |

* Table based on state almanac.

### House of Representatives

| Name | Party | County |
| - | - | - |
| E.B. Arnold | Dem | Adair |
| S.J. Carrier | Rep | Alfalfa |
| Henry Cooper | Dem | Atoka |
| Floyd Harrington | Dem | Beaver |
| Cecil A. Myers | Dem | Beckham |
| R. F. Estes | Dem | Beckham |
| E. Blumhagen | Dem | Blaine |
| A. N. Leecraft | Dem | Bryan |
| Sam Sullivan | Dem | Bryan |
| Kenneth J. Hogue | Dem | Caddo |
| Amos Stovall | Dem | Caddo |
| Francis Porta | Dem | Canadian |
| Bill Selvidge | Dem | Carter |
| Wilson Wallace | Dem | Carter |
| Dan Draper | Dem | Cherokee |
| Paul Webb | Dem | Choctaw |
| Frank Conner | Dem | Cimarron |
| Ben Huey | Dem | Cleveland |
| Dale Brown | Dem | Coal |
| Bill Logan | Dem | Comanche |
| C.S. McCuistion | Dem | Comanche |
| Charles Flanagan | Dem | Cotton |
| Jack L. Rorschach | Dem | Craig |
| William L. Cheatham | Dem | Creek |
| Homer O'Dell | Dem | Creek |
| Streeter Speakman Jr. | Dem | Creek |
| Earl D. Duncan | Dem | Custer |
| Harry Shackleford | Rep | Delaware |
| T. J. Hussey | Dem | Dewey |
| George Davison | Rep | Ellis |
| Floyd Carrier | Rep | Garfield |
| O. R. Whiteneck | Dem | Garfield |
| Harold Freeman | Dem | Garvin |
| Herbert Hope | Dem | Garvin |
| Dutch Hill | Dem | Grady |
| C. D. Van Dyck | Dem | Grady |
| K. T. Trout | Rep | Grant |
| Henry W. Worthington | Dem | Greer |
| W. T. Cunningham | Dem | Harmon |
| George Pauls | Dem | Harper |
| D.C. Cantrell | Dem | Haskell |
| Frank Grayson | Dem | Hughes |
| Burr Speck | Dem | Jackson |
| Otto G. Bound | Dem | Jefferson |
| Ed Gill | Dem | Johnston |
| W.E. Knapp | Rep | Kay |
| David M. LeMarr | Rep | Kay |
| Robert L. Barr | Dem | Kingfisher |
| Finis C. Gillespie Jr. | Dem | Kiowa |
| M. B. Patterson | Dem | Latimer |
| Earl Johnson | Dem | LeFlore |
| Raymond H. Lucas | Dem | LeFlore |
| Clyde L. Andrews | Dem | Lincoln |
| Carl Morgan | Rep | Logan |
| Owen Townsend | Dem | Love |
| A. L. McFadden | Rep | Major |
| Don Welch | Dem | Marshall |
| Lincoln Battenfield | Dem | Mayes |
| Purman Wilson | Dem | McClain |
| Bascom Coker | Dem | McCurtain |
| Carl Dees | Dem | McCurtain |
| Kirksey Nix | Dem | McIntosh |
| Malcolm Baucum | Dem | Murray |
| Herbert L. Branan | Dem | Muskogee |
| George A. Coffey | Dem | Muskogee |
| Will Rogers | Dem | Muskogee |
| Merle Allen | Dem | Noble |
| LaRue Rush | Dem | Nowata |
| Bennie F. Hill | Dem | Okfuskee |
| Bryan Billings | Dem | Oklahoma |
| Laverne Carlton | Dem | Oklahoma |
| Ben F. Ellis | Dem | Oklahoma |
| Murray Gibbons | Dem | Oklahoma |
| B. B. Kerr | Dem | Oklahoma |
| George Miskovsky | Dem | Oklahoma |
| Creekmore Wallace | Dem | Oklahoma |
| S. E. Hammond | Dem | Okmulgee |
| Frank Mahan | Dem | Osage |
| C. A. Douthat | Dem | Ottawa |
| Walter Miller | Dem | Ottawa |
| Harry Fischer | Dem | Pawnee |
| Elbert Weaver | Dem | Payne |
| Andy Banks | Dem | Pittsburg |
| Jay Basolo | Dem | Pittsburg |
| Elmer Hopkins | Dem | Pittsburg |
| Fred McCabe | Dem | Pontotoc |
| Moss Wimbish | Dem | Pontotoc |
| Bill High | Dem | Pottawatomie |
| Ralph Spencer | Dem | Pottawatomie |
| Clarence Tankersley | Dem | Pottawatomie |
| Louie Gossett | Dem | Pushmataha |
| Edgar McVicker | Dem | Roger Mills |
| Tom H. Kight | Dem | Rogers |
| Dick Bell | Dem | Seminole |
| V. L. Kiker | Dem | Seminole |
| J. T. Means | Dem | Seminole |
| Paul V. Carlile | Dem | Sequoyah |
| James Bullard | Dem | Stephens |
| Pat Fitzgerald | Dem | Stephens |
| Wallace Hughes | Dem | Texas |
| James B. Witt | Dem | Tillman |
| Holly L. Anderson | Dem | Tulsa |
| Glade Kirkpatrick | Dem | Tulsa |
| William F. Latting | Dem | Tulsa |
| William J. Melton | Dem | Tulsa |
| A. E. Williams | Rep | Tulsa |
| A. F. Sweeney | Rep | Tulsa |
| D. E. Temple | Dem | Tulsa |
| Bob Wagner | Dem | Wagoner |
| John M. Holliman | Dem | Washington |
| Ripley Greenhaw | Rep | Washita |
| J. G. Powers | Rep | Woods |
| Dick Houston | Dem | Woodward |

* Table based on government database.
